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Monday, May 6, 2013

Which schway?

Shortly after we posted instructions for a new tangle schway, we received an email from Scott in Colorado.

He sent me links [here and here] of aroz, a tangle he had created over a year ago:


Look familiar?

Not only that, he wrote that he had emailed it to us, but never heard back. (I don't doubt it. I wouldn't even have been surprised to see that I had written back . . . and forgotten!)

This event is a great illustration of the charm of the Zentangle method. It's also an example of why no one can say, "This is my tangle." Zentangle's charm is in deconstructing patterns available to us all into a defined series of simple strokes that almost anyone can easily and enjoyably recreate . . . without stress, and without needing to know how it will look when you finish.

It is so exciting to become aware of patterns in your surroundings, ponder ways to deconstruct them, and then share them with others. With so many people enjoying that process, we will likely see more of this. (Of course, it will also give Linda Farmer, CZT, of tanglepatterns.com, even more work to do!  :-)
Aside:
When Maria was designing stationery, she was invited to the New York Stationery Show to receive an award. While she was there she made a point to not walk the show to see what other people were doing. She was concerned that she might see something, forget she saw it, and then months/years later, "create" the same thing, believing it was her idea.
We are pleased to acknowledge Scott's stepout of aroz. We are grateful that he, along with so many, are contributing to everyone's enjoyment of Zentangle.

Thank you, Scott!

Best,

Rick (and Maria)

Click image for larger view.

6 comments:

Carole Ohl said...

Another lovely aspect of this phenomenon is that different step outs for the same tangle can sometimes offer a more comfortable/connected breakdown of a pattern for some. Our brains often work in different ways!

Lois Stokes said...

I really needed to hear you reconfirm why "no one can say, This is my tangle." With the growth of Zentangle and the amount of Tangles out there, it has become impossible for me to keep up with who created what. I became frozen in place, unwilling to name a pattern that I use for fear it belonged to someone else. I found a safe place when teaching by using only the "official" tangles and step outs.Thank you for sharing your experience with schway.

Anonymous said...

Rick -

Thanks for the acknowledgement!

I guess there really is, as my Mom used to say, more than one way to skin a cat.

Thanks to for providing this resource for us to further the craft whether for fun or professionally.

Scott in CO

Tricia, CZT said...

Gracious gentlemen, Scott and Rick. Love the gentleness of your post, Rick.

Melanye said...

Great minds think alike!! Thanks Scott & Rick!!

MomZenArtist said...

Thank you to Scott for another way of thinking about Schway (or Aroz!) I think there are tips from each set of step outs that will work for me. Like snowflakes, no two tanglers are alike because we all have different ideas, experiences, and inspiration. I love when I teach a class and the students say, "Look how different they all are, and we all learned the same thing!"

Rick, this is beautifully said and very true. Patterns are there for us to enjoy. I sometimes worry about crediting the right people. Since we are lucky enough to see an endless variety of patterns all around us, we are bound to duplicate sometimes. There are no new stories in books or movies either. :-) There are just new ways of thinking about them, interpreting them, and making them your own.

Thanks Rick and Scott.

Emily Classon, MomZenArtist
CZT IX
momzenartist.blogspot.com